Heesen Yachts has released a statement to announce the start of construction work of a new 85-metre dry dock at their shipyard facility in Oss, in the Netherlands.

First announced during a press conference at the Monaco Yacht Show last September, the new shed will replace sheds two and three, which were both built in 1995.

Construction work began on the new project on Monday 15th June, and is scheduled for completion by October 2016. An official inauguration is then expected to take place on November 11th 2016.

The Heesen board of directors commented, “The new 85m dry dock is our investment in the future and our response to the market request for bigger yachts.

“The success of the 65m FDHF (Fast Displacement Hull Form) Galactica Star – the largest Heesen currently at sea – and the impressive 70m Project Kometa, currently under construction, are creating a lot of interest in Heesen from repeat clients, as well as from owners who are new to our brand. We are now ready to further expand the size of our yachts on offer up to 80m.”

The new shed and its dry dock will be equipped with the latest features, including automatic sun-tracker lights on the roof of the shed, which are expected to reduce the use of power for lighting by up to 25% to optimise illumination.

The facility will also be temperature and humidity controlled, with the dry dock floor heated. A high-quality air filtering system will be installed to provide optimal conditions for the painting process, with 60,000m3 of air filtered per hour through special filters, taking 70% of air from outside and adding it to 30% of recycled air.

To make the dry dock watertight, 2,000 cubic metres of concrete will be employed, while 500 tons of steel will be used to build the hall. The dry dock will contain 6,502m3 of water and it will take approximately one-day to fill it.